The garden needs a lot of TLC before anything can be planted. With the dog, Alie, foraging the nearby bushes, I choose a starting point and begin to weed. As Robin shows me the different areas of her domain, including the empty chicken coop and the green house, I learn that when gardening, it is sometimes better to not clean up places too well as dead leaves and hay protect growing flowers from unexpected frosts. Well, I'll have to learn not to make everything perfect.
After working for a couple hours, I retreat to the barn where the woodstove is warmly welcoming me back. I make tea and discover how satisfying it is to drink a hot tea after working hard outside. Tastes even better than my favorite $4.29 Starbucks Chai!
I live alone in the barn while Robin stays in the house next door. We take most of our meals separately but she eats gluten-free and is a great resource for gluten-free products and recipes. I realized quickly that I prefer to keep my cooking simple because it goes with the lifestyle here. That’s a significant shift knowing that I spent the last few months rediscovering the joy of cooking somewhat exotic and elaborate dishes. I am glad to see that I’m able to adapt to my new life pretty smoothly. That was one thing I was curious about: Would I find out that I was really set in my ways and would find it challenging to adapt to farming life? So far, I am finding that I enjoy walking around in the mud in my rain boots and big sweater, making fire in a woodstove, eating canned food (well, for now).
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